When Government Stops, Communities Don’t: Seena Hodges on Leadership, Equity, and Holding Community Through Crisis
MinneapoliMedia. By Tom Akaolisa.
As Minnesota and the nation confront the cascading effects of a federal shutdown—economic uncertainty, strained public services, anxious households, and a workplace landscape under pressure—many leaders are asking the same question: How do we maintain trust, morale, and belonging during instability?
For insight, MinneapoliMedia spoke with Seena Hodges, award-winning leadership coach, founder of The Woke Coach®, and author of the new audiobook From Ally to Accomplice. Hodges, known for her clarity, candor, and unapologetically human approach to leadership, joined MinneapoliMedia’s Tom Akaolisa for a wide-ranging conversation on courage, disruption, equity, burnout, and why every leader needs a care plan.
What follows is an edited and refined version of that discussion.
Living Through Multiple Realities
Tom Akaolisa: Thank you so much for being here today, Seena. How are you holding up? The past few weeks have felt emotionally heavy for a lot of people.
Seena Hodges: I’m good—and I’m also grieving. Personally, with my family and friends, I feel grounded and joyful. But I think many of us are carrying a collective sadness about the world we’re living in. Those truths coexist. They’re both real.